He added that they were still at the treatment centre under the watch of specialised doctors in epidemiology.

The commissioner explained that the singular case of Lassa fever that was recorded last week came at a time when the state had positioned itself with the treatment centre.

“This singular case came at a time when we have positioned ourselves by having a treatment centre attached to the ESUTH hospital, where confirmed cases are treated for the safety of relations and health workers.

“Before the outbreak of the Lassa fever, the state government had already secured Nigeria Centre for Disease Control partnership in the setting up of an ultra modern public health emergency operation centre.

“The centre is equipped with Information Technology and Communication gadgets which helps integrating information from local government to local government, from state to state and to national levels,’’ he said.

Echochin said that the state government had trained Surveillance and Notification Officers in the 17 local government areas of the state.

He said that the officers, who were mobilised with motorcycles and phones, usually communicate with their boss, the state Epidemiologist, who helps in the coordination for effective health service delivery in the state.

He revealed that all those who had contact with the deceased were under surveillance, adding that the state government got them through effective contact tracing.

He called on residents to always cover their food and keep their environment clean and as well do away with rodents of any kind so as to avoid being affected with the disease.

Medical doctors across Kogi State on Tuesday gathered in Lokoja to pay their last respect to one of their own who died of Lassa fever last Sunday.

Late Dr. Idowu Ahmed died on Sunday evening in Irrua, Edo State, aged 30, after attending to a seven-month old baby who also died a day after being admitted.

At a procession held at the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, on Tuesday, doctors lamented that they have lost “a great colleague.”

As they moved round the hospital premises, they finally settled at the administrative block of the FMC where the Chief Medical Director, Olatunde Alabi, addressed them.

Alabi said the hospital, in collaboration with relevant agencies, were working assiduously to stop further spread of the outbreak.

“Actually, late Dr. Idowu Ahmed is one of the new doctors that we have here and he has been very hardworking and dedicated to his duties.

“We are aware that there is an epidemic in the country and we are trying to put measures in place to prevent further spread of the disease.”

In his remarks, the Kogi State Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association, Dr. Godwin Tijani, told our correspondent that those that had contact with the deceased have been quarantined.

He said, “We feel saddened by the death of one of our colleagues. He was a young man. We will forever miss him.

“As I speak to you, some of his colleagues who had contact with him have been quarantined and some of them have started taking drugs.

“I cant be precise with the numbers of those under quarantine simply because the number keeps increasing.

“NMA, Kogi State Ministry of Health and the management of the Federal Medical Centre are keeping close watch on the deceased doctor’s family members, especially those who had contact with him.”

On the effort of NMA to stop further spread of the disease, he said that the association was already engaging in enlightenment campaigns on the need for the general public to know more about Lassa fever, its cause and how it could be prevented.

Another doctor has tested positive to Lassa fever at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba.

The Chief Medical Director, Prof. Chris Bode, who confirmed the new case on Friday, said the doctor had had contact with the index patient.

Three doctors who attended to the first patient, a 32-year-old pregnant woman who eventually died, had tested positive to the disease; while 135 other contacts were placed under surveillance at the hospital earlier this month.

LUTH had discharged the doctors who had been infected with the disease on Wednesday after they were certified free of it by experts at the tertiary hospital.

Bode, in a statement on Friday, said the doctor tested positive to Lassa fever on Thursday.

Bode stated, “The three doctors admitted with confirmed Lassa fever have all been certified fit and discharged home because subsequent repeated tests on them showed they have now tested negative.

“The 70 of the contacts being followed up have also been let off, having completed their period of observation.

“However, one new case was identified yesterday (Thursday) from among the doctors that first had close contact with the index case and she (the doctor) has already commenced treatment and is expected to recover fully very soon.

“Psychological and other supports have also been provided and her family contacts are closely monitored.”

The CMD who said the Federal Ministry of Health and the Lagos State Ministry of Health had provided more drugs, Personal Protective Equipment, follow-up services and decontamination services added that over 400 LUTH staff had been trained on the protocols of identifying and managing haemorrhagic fever to ensure that cases are caught early at the tertiary hospital.

“Overall, the disease is gradually tapering off, but we must remain vigilant while ongoing efforts are maintained to control the disease.

“There is a fully equipped response squad available round the clock to assess and take over the management of any suspected case in LUTH,” Bode added.

As Lassa fever outbreak resurfaced in Lagos State, the state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association has called for more public enlightenment and personal hygiene to prevent the spread of the disease.

A factional Chairman of NMA, Dr. Olubunmi Omojowolo, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Lagos.

Omojowolo was reacting to the death of two Lassa fever patients on Tuesday at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos, while a resident doctor at the hospital has tested positive to the infectious disease.

The Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode, confirming the reports on Tuesday, said no fewer than 100 health workers exposed to the index cases were currently being monitored.

“Each of the two patients presented very late and died in spite of efforts to salvage them.

“The first was a 39-year old pregnant lady with bleeding disorder who died after a stillbirth.”

“A post-mortem examination had been conducted before her Lassa fever status was eventually suspected and confirmed,’’ Bode said.

He also confirmed that a resident doctor from the Department of Anatomic and Molecular Pathology, who took part in the autopsy, was later confirmed with the disease.

Bode said that the doctor was currently on admission and responding well to treatment at the Isolation Ward of LUTH.

He also said that two other suspected cases from the state were admitted and quarantined while undergoing confirmatory laboratory tests.

Omojowolo said, “The most important thing now is education and hygiene.

“I think in Nigeria, we take the issue of Lassa fever with levity unlike the way we handled Ebola Virus.

“One of the problem is that Lassa fever has been with us and has been recurrent, and so, people are used to it; but it is not something that we should be used to.

“Both Ebola and Lassa fever are very close and fatal illnesses and what should be done is that people should be educated.

“There should be regular jingles on radio and other media in general.

“One of the problems is the rat that carries the virus around and so, people should make sure they cover their foods very well, clean their environments and prevent rats from entering their houses.

“Also, anybody that has fever should visit the hospital on time.’’

The NMA chairman said that the main challenge with the disease was the inability to diagnose early due to the peculiarity of the symptoms which were similar to malaria including fever.

According to him, there are only few diagnostic centres for the disease and that is one of the problems of diagnosing it.

“This is why it is difficult to diagnose early; but now that we know there are cases, suspicion will be higher.

“Any patient with fever will be treated with suspicion and caution.

“Contact tracing should also be done, because the relations of the deceased should be traced and put on surveillance so that if any of them develop fever they can quickly get treatment.

“Also, the government should provide more places where patients can be treated as they need to be treated in isolation,“ Omojowolo said. (NAN)

Two patients have died of Lassa fever virus at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos.

LUTH’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Chris Bode, who confirmed the deaths on Tuesday, also stated that a resident doctor who took part in the autopsy has been isolated and is presently receiving treatment at the hospital.

He noted that two suspected cases are being followed up at the Isolation Ward in LUTH.

According to Bode, the first case was detected in a 39-year-old pregnant woman who had a bleeding disorder following a stillbirth; while the second victim died within few days of being admitted at the hospital.

The hospital’s management noted that 100 hospital workers who had contact with the index patients are being monitored for the symptoms of the disease.

Bode said, “Each of these two patients presented very late and died in spite of efforts to salvage them.

“Post-mortem examination had been conducted before Lassa fever status was eventually suspected and confirmed.

“No less than 100 different hospital workers exposed to the index case are currently being monitored.

“A resident doctor who took part in the autopsy has been confirmed with the disease and is currently on admission.”

The CMD, however, assured patients and health workers at the teaching hospital not to panic, saying the hospital had the needed drugs and resources at its disposal to prevent an outbreak or spread of the disease within the health facility.

According to him, the state’s Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, have sent personnel and experts to assist with the tracing and follow-up of contacts, in addition to managing suspected cases.

He said, “There are adequate materials for containment of the disease, while drugs have been made available to treat anyone confirmed with the disease.

The Centre for Disease Control in Nigeria has also been contacted.

Two other suspected cases from Lagos State are also presently admitted and quarantined while undergoing confirmatory laboratory tests.

“LUTH has always worked closely with officials of the state’s Ministry of Health in handling a number of diseases of public importance such as rabies, cholera, Lassa fever and the recent diarrhoea disease at the Queen’s College,” Bode said.

Lassa fever is an acute febrile illness, with bleeding and death in severe cases. It is spread by rats.

The Director- General, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Dr. Babatunde Salako, said there was a need to map the pattern of the outbreaks and the nature of the vector responsible for the spread of the disease.

Salako, who spoke to our correspondent in Lagos on Tuesday, said it was impossible for one to tackle a disease that one does not know its nature and epidemiology.

He said, “It’s time for us to map out the states that have recorded Lassa fever outbreaks and understudy states that are have never had an outbreak. This is so we can identify why and replicate what we find to help those who record outbreaks yearly.

“After this, we will study the vectors involved in affected states, in this case, the rats. It is after all these that we can come out with an evidence-based policy on prevention of Lassa fever.”

Salako also said its high time Nigeria led a vaccine and treatment research as Nigerian has the highest number of people dying of the disease globally.

“We need to invest in the development of a vaccine because there is none yet and because it does not have high income countries, their governments will not dedicate resources to such ventures.

“We have, however, inaugurated a committee that will map the outbreak, the movement of the vectors, so we can see develop a public health model towards prevention after which we will look at the possibility of research on a vaccine, ” he added.

A member of the National Youth Service Corps, Onwuegbuzie Stanley-Samuel, who was deployed to Cross River, has died of Lassa fever disease at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Inyang Asibong, who disclosed this to journalists on Friday in Calabar, said Onwuegbuzie hailed from Delta State and was serving in Obubra before he died.

Abisong said the deceased was first admitted at the General Hospital, Obubra, where he was treated for cerebral malaria for one week.

She said that his condition however got worse and he was referred to the UCTH for further treatment, while his blood sample was taken to Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Edo for diagnosis.

Quoting the authorities, PMNews reports: “The incident started about two weeks ago in Obubra and we all know that the incubation period of Lassa fever is three to 21 days.

“The deceased is an indigene of Delta State. The last time he travelled to Lagos State was during the Christmas period in December 2016 and came back to Cross River in January 2017.

“The deceased was living in the corps members’ lodge in Obubra and since he came back in January, he has not left that community

“Unfortunately, we lost him yesterday. Sadly, the corps member contracted the disease in Cross River,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Coordinator, World Health Organisation, Cross River State, Dr. Thompson Igbu, has assured the residents that the organisation had been working hard to prevent further spread of the disease.

Igbu said the WHO was working closely with the state Ministry of Health to curb further spread of the disease in the state.

According to him, over 15 persons, including Onwuegbuzie’s colleagues living in the NYSC lodge in Obubra, had been line-listed.

“We have line-listed over 15 persons in Obubra who are `primary contacts’ and the hospital where the deceased was first admitted has also been line-listed.

“We are supporting the state with essential drugs and we are making sure that necessary steps are taken to curb further spread of the disease,’’ he said.

Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, UCTH, Dr. Ngim Ogbu, said the corps member’s death was the second recorded case of death resulting from Lassa fever in the hospital.

Ogbu said the infection control unit of the hospital was on top of the case from the beginning, by limiting the number of contacts.

“The body of the deceased has not been sent to the mortuary; this is because we are taking measures to curb further spread of the disease,” he said.

Samuel Awoyinfa, Abeokuta

The Ogun Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babtunde Ipaye, has said the 396 people who had primary and secondary contacts with the late Assistant Chief Nursing Officer of Federal Medical Centre, Idi Aba, Abeokuta, Abolanle Adesuyi, who died of Lassa fever last Sunday, have been traced and placed under surveillance.

He said this was done in case they would develop symptoms of the disease.

The commissioner disclosed this during the inauguration of Shoremekun Memorial Hospital at Ifo Local Government Area of the state on Friday.

Ipaye said the primary contacts were mostly members of the late victim’s family; while the secondary contacts were the victim’s co-workers in the hospital, particularly those in her department.

Ipaye however said so far, none of the contacts have shown abnormal temperature since their monitoring began.

He added that the medical officer attached to each of the contacts would continue to monitor them until the specified period, in line with the World Health Organisation standard was exceeded before they could be medically adjudged to be free of the disease.

He said, “All the 396 contacts have not shown any abnormal symptoms or signs of Lassa fever.

“Their temperature is under control and we have stationed our monitoring officer with each of the contacts to continue monitoring them throughout a specific period, in line with the World Health Organisation standard.”

While urging members of the public not to panic, Ipaye assured that government was on top of the situation.

He, however, advised the people to cultivate high level of hygiene and keep their food away from rats.

Ipaye also advised members of the public to report any case of malaria symptoms that may have exceeded three days to the nearest General Hospital, the Ministry of Health, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta; or call the following dedicated lines; 09099140121 and 09099140122.

The Edo State Government on Tuesday said it had reactivated its response and surveillance team for the prevention of Lassa ‎fever, a few days after four persons reportedly died from the epidemic.

The recent victims, including a medical doctor, were said to have died in Anambra State and their blood samples tested positive at the ‎centre for Lassa fever diagnosis and treatment – located within the Irrua Specialist Hospital, in Esan North-East Local Government Area of Edo State.

However, the Edo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Eregia Ahianuwa, who disclosed this to The PUNCH in Benin, the state capital, said there was no need for residents to panic, adding that there had been no reported case of an outbreak in the state.

Ahianuwa said that disease surveillance officers had swung into action by moving into rural communities, where additional awareness was required.

She said, “We have taken the relevant measures already. We never really stopped. But we have reactivated our response team.

“We have disease surveillance officers. They started moving out yesterday to go beyond the cities.‎”

She also said efforts were being made to ensure that residents of the state maintain a hygienic environment.

According to her, such efforts were necessary due to the position of Edo as a transit state.

“Our jingles have been reactivated. So, we want to ‎acquaint people with this information, in case they have forgotten.

“Once that is back to its peak, we are already doing something. So far, there is no reported case in Edo. For that, we are grateful.

“We know that our state is a transit area and a lot of persons pass through. So, once people are aware that they should still take the relevant precaution, in terms of storage of their food water, washing of hands and proper disposal of their waste and avoiding touching the rat, then that means things will continue to be okay for us.”

The commissioner allayed the fears of residents of a possible spread.

Ahianuwa added, “There is no need for panic at all. Like I said, there is no reported case in Edo State. We have a centre in Edo for the management of Lassa fever‎.”

“Even beyond that, the point is prevention; that is what we need. A lot of persons should become more aware. Once people are reminded and they take the relevant precaution, there is no problem. There is no need to panic at all.”